


The Man Who Lives Forever

by oh_no_we_re_in_the_upside_down



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Gen, very short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-02 09:56:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19196542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oh_no_we_re_in_the_upside_down/pseuds/oh_no_we_re_in_the_upside_down
Summary: Eleven’s word of the day turns into a promise to her oldest friend.





	The Man Who Lives Forever

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! Thanks for clicking on this fic! Welcome to my first ever anything on this site (or any other)! Quick notes before starting:  
> \- I have no idea if I did the tags correctly, so don’t be afraid to correct me if anything is wrong.  
> \- This story can be set pretty much whenever, I’d say post S2 maybe.
> 
> I really hope you enjoy, feel free to comment.

“Kid, are you okay with staying on your own here for an hour or two?” Hopper asked. “I can call Steve and have him come over if you want.”

“Where are you going?” Jane asked in response.

“I’m going to the cemetery.”

“Ce-me-te-ry?” The girl tried.

“Yeah, kid. C-E-M-E-T-E-R-Y. Cemetery. It’s the place where we put people who are—“ He stopped.

“Gone?”

“Yes, people who are gone. So other people can go and see them, and talk to them. So we remember them. I shouldn’t be long, I’ll bring lunch back.”

“Are you going to see Sara?”

Hopper frowned, he was not too fond of the memories, and, even though he could never blame Jane for not knowing about cemeteries, her questions had managed to weaken his strong facade. He shook the feeling of discomfort off, and answered.

“I am, yes, Jane, El,” Calling Jane by her real name would definitely take some more time, he thought. “Also, my friend Benny is there.”

“Benny?!” Jane asked, taken by surprise. “You know Benny?”

“Do you?”

Jane felt her cheeks burning at the mention of Benny, the first person who had genuinely treated her like she was a human, and not a test subject.

“Benny is a nice man,” she said, “he gave me food after I tried to steal some. The bad woman from the lab came at night and—“ She was tearing up at this point.

“That’s okay, kid.” Hopper said, reaching out to pull her in for a hug. “You don’t have to say it. I’m sorry, I brought up bad memories.”

Jane was slowly regaining her composure when Hopper got up.

“Look, kid, let’s grab an Eggo before I go, and then I’ll call for Steve.” He said.

“But, I already had breakfast.”

“Let’s say we don’t care about the rule this time, so you feel better, okay, kid?”

“Okay.” Who was she to ever deny Eggos? She was finding a hint of her smile again.

Hopper made his way to the cabin’s phone while Jane was devouring her Triple Eggo Extravaganza; Jim thought he might have overdone it, but who could blame him, seeing his little girl cry, made him weak, and seeing her with whipped cream on her face and that wide smile was, to him, the warmest sensation in the world.

“Hey, Harrington,” Hopper hoped his smile couldn’t be heard, “it’s Hopper. Please, you can call me Hopper, enough with the ‘sir’ or ‘chief’. Anyway, I need you–“

“I want to come with you.” Jane suddenly said.

“Hold on for a second Harrington. What did you say, kid?”

“I want to talk to Benny.”

“Well, okay. Harrington you still there? Yeah, I’m not going to bother you today, it’ll be fine, talk to you later.”

 

The ride to the cemetery had been quiet. Jane was nervous, this was a first for her. She had impulsively said she wanted to go, but she hadn’t thought about what she was supposed to say, and now that they were there, she felt awkward.

“Hop, I don’t know what to say.” She finally admitted.

“That’s okay, Jane.” He said, getting out of the truck. “You don’t have to say anything.”

“I want to.” She said, twice, the second time with a certain determination.

“Well, okay, maybe I can give you some advice. Do not think about it too much. That way, it will be your heart speaking, it can’t get any truer than this.” He squeezed her hand.

“Thanks.” She squeezed it back.

When they got to Benny’s grave, Hopper talked first. “Hey Benny, I brought an old friend of yours, I told you I’d figure out who did it, and I did, thanks to her.” He laughed. “This is my little girl, Jane, though you probably know her as Eleven. I hope you don’t hold a grudge against her, even though I doubt you’re capable of that. Anyway, she wanted to talk to you. Go ahead, El.”

She froze. Only for a moment, but it felt like hours. Hopper put one hand down on her shoulder, and with the other, grabbed back her hands gently. She calmed down.

“Hello, “ she started, “I’m Eleven. Thank you. For the food, for teaching me smiles. For the ice cream. For being my first friend. I will remember you, I promise.”

The two of them then got to Sara’s grave, and Hopper got silent. Jane understood, so she took his hand like he had done to her earlier. She couldn’t see, but she could feel his smile.

“Okay, so I guess now it’s time for that lunch I promised, huh?” Hopper said, as they both climbed back in the truck.

Jane only nodded in response, beaming.

“I hope you were okay in there, you didn’t have to come really, but... I appreciate that you wanted to. I guess it’s easier when you’re not alone.” He concluded.


End file.
